Did you miss me?

I hope that no one remembers what I said in my first blog of this year. For those of you all who haven’t read that far back, let me just say that I broke my resolution. Though I am not proud of my lack of blogging in the past month I do have to say that I am really excited about the things that Trina and I are accomplishing through the fellowship. We are finishing our final push for the Mexico trip and we are also working on several projects independently.

I am sorry though, that in this time of happiness and excitement, I have to report some sad news. As many of you may have read, I am working on an oral history project for the Special Collections and Archives at the library. I did not get an opportunity to write about Dr. Angenieta Biegel, the wonderful woman I chose for the project.

Dr. Biegel was Professor Emerita at the IUMC and was a member of the IUPUI family. She was one of the first women to receive many great medical distinctions and honors through the university. Sadly Dr. Biegel passed away April 11, 2008. I only had the opportunity to meet with her three times, but my life was truly enriched with her presence. She was kind, extremely hospitable, and feisty. She also had a wealth of information and knowledge and I only wished I had the opportunity to get to know her better.

Though I did not get to finish the oral history of Dr. Angenieta Biegel, I did tape record one session with her. In her honor, once the editing and transcription are completed, that interview will be housed in the Special Collections and Archives at IUPUI.

If I have not learned anything else in my time as a diversity fellow, I have learned this, people are precious gifts. I think that what the fellowship does (through helping us understand and embrace diversity) is to try to help the fellows and those around us remember that we are not just in this profession to serve demographics, or statistics, but the library is a place that serves people. We should never take the opportunity to engage in conversation with or assist someone for granted.

Carrying on as always,

Ashley

Diversity Seminar at the School of Journalism

It's me again....I briefly attended the Mary I. Benedict Critical Issues Seminar at the School of Journalism today. I just found out this is an annual gig the school does for high school students involved in journalism, photography and the yearbook. The guest speaker was Mercedes Lynn De Uriarte, University of Texas at Austin's associate professor of the school of journalism. Today the seminar was about diversity! And boy, it was a juicy seminar because Ms. De Uriarte, and the other facilitators, mentioned that diversity goes beyond skin color, origin of birth and language. The seminar had a strong focus on intellectual diversity and how these high school students could break out of the monotonous mold of journalistic writing. IUPUI journalism faculty and Ms. De Uriarte encouraged the students to reflect on their school newspaper and pin-point what was lacking....and where was the diversity? Did the paper reflect their school? Are these students digging deep enough to capture diverse stories for the paper? Are these students stepping out of their comfort zones in order to interview a diverse person or seek a diverse issue?

This seminar was a great eye-opener for me. Diversity has become an important idea. A goal. An issue. A fear. A gem. A realization.

The facilitators wanted the students to critical think, and as a visitor at the event, I too began to think. This whole event reminds me of the many conversations I have with Ash about diversity, and how there is a stereotype ABOUT diversity - that it is just about race, ethnicity and religion. Race, ethnicity and religion are some of the many facets OF diversity....or maybe even a sub-sub-category. Let's think about it.

On another note, this seminar got my noodle in motion (my brain guys!). Do our library collections reflect the university as a whole? Do we have a diverse collection? I can say that while working on the most recent display case I had some trouble finding information on some Black poets when I searched the UL collections. So why does our library lack here? How can this be improved?

Also, does our library environment welcome all diversity? Do the library tools such as the computers, chairs, rooms, phones, printers, books, etc. (anything you can think of) target and satisfy our diverse patrons and users? Let's think about it.

Does our library organize diverse events? Does our library organize events for diverse groups or reasons? Let's think about it.

Just some food for thought,
Trina

A new Cause on Dosomething.org

I just discovered dosomething.org and posted a Cause/Project on the site for our collaboration efforts with "To Mexico, with Love." I hope this will help bring awareness to the library construction project and to the University Library's Diversity Fellowship. =)

We will see. In the mean time, please check out the cause.

Gracias,
Trina

Quick Blurb

Ashley and I were able to inventory all the books and materials that have been donated thus far for the library project in Xoxocotla, Mexico. We finished up the inventory before spring break, and we will continue to inventory books and materials until it is time to leave in May. We will soon be working on a catalog system for the new library....I am excited about this!

I will also be working on a project within the library, beginning this week. Ashley and I sat down sometime last semester and brainstormed on why the library isn't and may not be a very inviting, friendly environment for patrons and visitors. We all thought of how we could make a more positive environment.....and one of our ideas was to put pictures of IUPUI University Library librarians on READ posters and to post these up around the library! I'm excited to say that this idea has taken off and is about to be in effect!!!! So watch out guys!! If this project proves to be effective (in a good way) we will branch out and post READ posters in different schools and departments (i.e. READ poster of Ed Gonzalez, a science, engineering, technology, informatics and nursing librarian, in the appropriate buildings). :)

Ciao!
Trina

An Update - Catching a Breathe from the Frenzy

Hola! The new year has been ridiculous - a good kind. When the new year came in, so did new projects and ideas....so it has been busy and hectic. But hey, I work GREAT under pressure!

I finally finished my part of the display case earlier last week. I really like the way Ashley and I infused Black History Month (Feb.), National Women's History Month (March), National Poetry Month and Community Spirit Month (April). We decided we will keep this display up until the end of April; therefore, our display celebrates each of these months. You should really check it out because Ashley did a fabulous job of researching and finding awesome photos of the Black community that once existed right where our university now sits! (Hence, celebrating the Black History and Community Spirit months). My display showcases pictures and information on influential Black women and poets (male and female) in/from Indianapolis. If you check out the display you will see Etheridge Knight, poet; Mari Evans, poet/writer; Julia Carson, congresswoman; Tasha Jones, poet; and Madame C. J. Walker, entrepreneur. So my display case celebrates the Black History and National Poetry months.

I had the blessing and opportunity to make contact with Madame C. J. Walker's great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles, who provided me with fabulous pictures of Madame C. J. Walker. Ms. Bundles also told me she was going to be at IUPUI to talk at the "Marching to Justice" display, and she also told me she wanted to stop by and see our finished display! I was ecstatic! Sure enough, last Tuesday, Ms. Bundles stopped by to look at our work! I was very nervous, after all, she knows much more about her great-great-grandmother than I do. But she left me a note saying she enjoyed the display! So, now I am even more excited and proud of Ashley and my work! How awesome is that guys?

**Check out the official website of Madame C. J. Walker to learn more about her and her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.

Well, that is all for today!
Until next time,
Trina

Just an update

Hey everyone. I just wanted to take out a little time to Blog and catch everyone up on what has been going on with the Fellowship. Last week was a productive and fun week. Trina and I had the opportunity to meet with Michelle from "To Mexico with Love" to talk about getting some initial inventory underway for the Xoxocotla library project. Both Trina and I are super excited and waiting to hear back from scholarship committees in order to help us fund this study abroad/ service learning experience. We will start our official inventory next week.

We were also invited to the TL&R (Teaching, Learning and Research) retreat. At this meeting we talked with several different librarians and library staff members. The aim of the retreat was to figure out (or at least start talking about) which goals UL should start setting in order to help UL continue on the path of becoming a premiere academic library. I felt honored to be called upon to share the student perspective on matters from everything from marketing to the appropriateness of technology. I think the Diversity Fellowship was created to foster these kinds of student/staff/faculty interactions. This type of exchange serves the purpose of teaching Trina and I about the issues facing today's library and also allows us to offer our own perspectives to this conversation.

Kudos to the TL&R team for taking this approach.

Well...there are many things to come so I will say bye-bye-bye for right now.

Carry On,
Ashley

Book fairs, oral histories, and displays...oh my

Ok, ok, I admit it. I haven't been keeping up with my resolution. There has been ever so much to do around here. But, that is no excuse I am still going to work on getting more blogs posted so that I can share the exciting things that are going on with the fellowship...

This week Trina and I will be working with the external relations team in order to get ready for the book fair next week. This morning we will be working on signs and figuring out where to place them to get the best student response. We have also decided to put the information about the book fair on the Diversity Fellowship's and the University Library's Facebook pages. These kind of social networking sites really reach out to the student population so we are hoping to get a good response.

This week I will also begin working on an oral history project with the special collections and archives team. For this project I will choose someone connected to IUPUI and collect a oral history of the university from that person. At this time I am most interested in collecting an oral history from someone who once lived in this neighborhood and is now affiliated with the school. I am particularly interested in this project because my mother's and father's families both have ties to the neighborhood where IUPUI now resides. My father attended Crispus Attucks High School, and my mother lived on Blake Street. During my mother's childhood Blake Street was part of a thriving African-American community. This community was displaced when the university and other city buildings were built. I think that it is important for the university to acknowledge and pay homage to these people.

Speaking of this African- American community, in recognition of this history, one of the displays in the lower lobby of the University Library is dedicated to the old neighborhood. Please come by and take a look at the photos and information on display. The photographs from Crispus Attucks and The Flanner House are housed in IUPUI's special collections and many are available online through the University Library Digital Catalog. The bulk of the other information can be accessed through the University Library's online database search. For other Indiana and Indianapolis information you might want to check out the Indiana Historical Society's database.

This display will run February 4th - May 11th so you have plenty of time to come see it.

Well until next time, Carry on.

Ashley